No end in sight – the clock keeps on counting the hours

Cold showers, warm fridges and dark houses – life could be more comfortable! For more than 48 hours now the inhabitants of Curahuasi, Abancay and Andahuaylas keep on asking when they will have power again. The state electricity company keeps on making vague assertions, which causes people to speculate: one more hour or two more weeks!

The hospital’s emergency power generator is running non-stop. Today (Monday) Oebele de Haan bought a further 1,900 litres of diesel. Mobiles are flocking to the sockets like moths to a light bulb. At the moment the hospital is the place to work – thanks to our having electricity. When night falls in Curahuasi at around 6p.m. one can no longer see one’s hand in front of one’s face.

It may be tomorrow, or the day after when we are woken up early in the morning by our fridge’s hum. But irrespective of how long this time period will be, we will stick it out!